Will Education Park Concept at El Toro Base Fly?

The Times goofed! Saturday’s paper (“Will Trojans Occupy El Toro?” Sept. 24) headlined converting the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into a satellite campus as a “new idea.” What is new is county Supervisor (Roger R.) Stanton’s pitch to approach USC officials, and that’s certainly good.

A survey conducted three months ago by the grass-roots Leisure World El Toro Conversion Committee, at a community forum, overwhelmingly supported the idea of educational facilities at El Toro as a viable alternative to a commercial airport.

In addition, many other “new” ideas won high praise in the poll, such as a transportation hub (high-speed rail), parks and recreation, and a museum complex (including a Native American Cultural Center). Unfortunately, The Times chose not to cover June’s mass meeting, nor the subsequent results of the survey.

Perhaps greater insight in the idea category might have been gleaned if you had.

ANITA C. SINGER

Laguna Hills

* And yet another creative use has been proposed for El Toro, this time by Orange County Supervisor Stanton. It is hoped that the voters will come to understand that potential possibilities, like Supervisor Stanton addresses, cannot be realized if Measure A, the 21,000 jobs-airport initiative, passes.

Chapman University President (James) Doti wants to jump on this bandwagon as well. Since he publicly supports the airport initiative, which limits base conversion usage to an airport and “airport-related use only,” how does he see himself in this picture of creating an education park as a complement to an airport?

Excuse me. Is “airport-related use only” now open to broad interpretation? Why not hop down from that ivory tower and admit that this hastily drafted initiative is too flawed to fly?

MARY SCHWARTZ

Santa Ana